Reviews

Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland

bookie_mama_bear's review against another edition

2.0

I finished Phoenix Flame over the weekend. I adored Havenfall - this one not so much. It felt a bit pointless to be honest. It’s 250 pages long for a reason and I’m just frustrated that actually very little has changed since book 1. Is it the end of the series?! I genuinely have no idea, it could be.....so much potential but just not what I hoped for.
Thank you to @netgalley for my eARC. As you can tell my reviews are always my own!

lpcoolgirl's review against another edition

5.0

This was a fantastic sequel, I loved seeing these characters again and going on this adventure!

cguffy7's review

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

loveat1stwrite's review against another edition

4.0

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the fantasy world of the Havenfall series and it was great to be back! Holland presents a well thought out and balanced magical system, with a new twist (sorry, that's spoilers). With the returning health of Maddie's uncle, she steps down from being the Inkeeper of Havenfall, but that doesn't stop her adventures! The soul trade is alive and well, the Silver Prince has escaped to Byrn, and a new soul trader has been discovered in Fiordenkill. Can Maddie successfully pull off her infiltration mission? Will her relationships, especially her two crushes, survive the turmoil ahead?

One of my favorite aspects that I truly appreciate about this series is Maddie's bisexuality. It's not an in-your-face part of the book, and I don't think sexuality has to be. I love that the book is not about Maddie struggling with her sexuality and it's not about Maddie having an identity crisis. She lives her life and just happens to be bisexual. The book is not super romance heavy, but when she talks about her crushes one is a guy and one is a girl. It feels like a totally natural representation and it is so refreshing to finally see someone like me reflected in the characters I read.

I do wish that Maddie's character had more of an arc in Phoenix Flame. I still enjoyed Phoenix Flame, but she felt more complicated and had more depth in Havenfall that was not quite replicated here. I couldn't help but notice that Maddie appeared more passive in this one, though to be fair many of the situations she was in were totally out of her control. That being said I was still hoping for a bit more, especially from the climax itself. This is what took the book down one star for me.

biddy_mackenzie's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

abutler's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

pragya_agarwal's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

stubert's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Enjoyable but only tied up some of the plot points despite being the conclusion of a duology. The action itself felt quite rushed and things just seemed to happen too easily for the characters. Because of this the plot was rushed and there were pages of 'character development' that just seemed to drag.

elektriche's review against another edition

5.0

Really a magical series. Actual rating 4.5 stars. I enjoyed this immensely, and Havenfall was the kind of book that you can’t stop thinking about. Phoenixflame was a really great read. The only problem was that the end dragged a bit. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was great. Over all I would recommend this to a younger YA audience. I still really enjoyed it and will be recommending to friends and family

morchels's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was such a good book. Even though it had a great ending, I'd be interested in more of this series. I really enjoyed it.